


When You Learn to Sing

by lastchildofkrypton



Series: I see my future when I look in your eyes [2]
Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Guys this gets pretty fucking gay, Original Female Characters - Freeform, college days, domestic bechloe, eventually, sorry for the Beca/Jesse bullshit
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-30
Updated: 2019-09-08
Packaged: 2020-07-27 08:40:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20043121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lastchildofkrypton/pseuds/lastchildofkrypton
Summary: A prequel to I Will Spend My Whole Life Loving You. This focuses on Hanna and how she and Beca mended their relationship. It's not necessary to read IWSMWLLY to read this:Hanna Mitchell starts attending Barden University where she is reunited with her sister after years apart. Add in some meddling Bellas and some sexual confusion and we have a party.





	1. I'll never know your troubles (I only know what's mine)

**Author's Note:**

> I have received a few questions about whether or not I would ever delve into Hanna's past. I wrote this thing like a year ago and it's not finished but I thought I would put it up and see if it is worth pursuing. Hope you guys enjoy!

Hanna Mitchell, much like her sister, didn’t want to go to Barden. Not because she doesn’t like school, in fact, she loves it. She’s always had an affection for learning; she was involved in clubs and activities and graduated Valedictorian of her class. There were many reasons that she didn’t want to attend Barden, but the classes weren’t one of them.

“Can I help you find your dorm?” A perky blonde girl asks, she is wearing a bright green Barden Admissions polo and an even brighter smile on her face. Hanna takes a step back in surprise at the volume of her voice.

“Lance Hall?”  
“Down here on your right,” She looks around and realizes Hanna is alone, “We’ll assign someone to bring the rest of your stuff up with you.”

She looks down at the beaten duffel hanging off her right shoulder.

“Don’t worry about it. This is it.”

The girl quirks an eyebrow but quickly adjusts her face, not before Hanna can pick up on it. She walks up to the large brick building. She’s been to this campus a million times but it always seems to confuse her. She double checks that it’s the right one before pushing open the big wooden door and walking up the stairs to the third floor. The hall is already in chaos; a bunch of guys are moving furniture and throwing stuff, girls are talking loudly to each other, and there’s music blasting from one of the rooms further down.

She pushes the door to her room open and there is already a girl inside. She is organizing books on the shelf above her bed. She has long braids and beautiful dark skin. She turns at the sound of the door and smiles at Hanna.

“Hey, you must be Hanna. I’m Dayna.” She extends her hand and Hanna takes it, shaking it gently.  
“Nice to meet you.”

She slings her bag onto the bed and hops up onto the mattress. The room is big and sunny and everything you would think a dorm room wouldn’t be. Dayna has already decorated her side heavily with beautiful floral patterns and pastel colors. She scans over the book titles on the shelves; most of them she’s read, but there’s a few she’s been meaning to get to, she wonders if she would be able to borrow them.

“Do you need help getting the rest of your stuff?”  
“Uh, no, thanks. This is it, for now,” She shrugs.  
“Planning a quick getaway?”  
“If only. My dad lives close by, basically on campus, so i’m going to grab it a little at a time.”

Dayna nods and continues with her organizing. Hanna watches her movements for a few minutes before there’s a knock on the door. Before either of them can answer it, Dr. Mitchell is in the room.

“Hi dad.”  
“Hey Han, you settling in?”

She nods and grabs the other bag that her dad has brought. He turns to Dayna and extends his hand.

“Hi, I’m Dayna.” She gives him a wide smile and direct eye contact and Hanna is impressed.  
“Hi, I’m Dr. Mitchell, I teach comparative literature here,” He points to the books, “I might be seeing you in one of my classes soon.”  
She smiles and nods, “Maybe, yeah,” She turns to Hanna, “I’m going down to the activities fair. Do you want to come?”  
“I’m just gonna put some of my stuff away. I’ll meet you down there in a bit?”  
“Sounds good.”

She gives one more bright smile and walks out of the room.

“Han, listen, I know this wasn’t your first choice but,”  
“Dad, it’s fine, really. I’ll get over it.”

She tosses a couple shirts and a few pairs of jeans into drawers and puts some books and her laptop on her desk. She looks up at her dad who is giving her a look that she can’t quite place; sympathy, maybe, but it’s cloaked with his usual indifference. They argued all spring and through most of the summer about this. She knows there’s no sense in trying to talk about it anymore. She zips up her bag, not bothering to empty it completely, and tosses it under her bed.

He follows her out of the room, out into the quad. There are tons of people milling around booths and tables. Some people look happier than they've probably ever been in their lives. Others look terrified. Hanna looks around, trying to avoid any further conversation with her father.

“Are you going to try to find your sister?”  
“What’s the point?” She bites her lower lip and sticks her hands in her pockets, “We both know she's not looking for me.”

They walk down one pathway and she notices a girl with red hair in a patterned sundress eyeing her. She turns the other way to ignore her.

“Well, do your best to enjoy yourself. You’re still coming home for dinner tomorrow to tell us about your first day of classes? Sheila is already planning the menu.”  
“Yeah, I’ll be there.”

He smiles, it’s forced and she knows that, but she smiles back at him. He places a hand on her shoulder and he looks like he wants to hug her, but she can’t remember the last time he did that. She crosses her arms over her chest and takes a step backward. When he walks away she watches to make sure he actually leaves before looking around for Dayna. When she turns back around the red headed girl is extremely close to her. Her eyes are so blue that Hanna feels like she can see through them. She backs herself away so they aren’t breathing the same air.

“Hey.”  
“Um, hello.”  
“Was that your dad?”

Hanna looks around thoroughly confused. She doesn’t answer right away which makes the girl move closer to her.

“Yeah, let me guess, you failed his class and you want me to get him to change it.”

The girl looks her up and down and Hanna feels incredibly uncomfortable.

“So, you’re the sister.” She says knowingly.  
“Who are you?”

Hanna takes a step back again trying her best to signal for the girl to back off, but it goes ignored.

“You’re Beca’s sister.” She says more adamantly this time and she circles around Hanna.  
“Oh, you know Beca.”  
“Yeah, you know you two don’t really look alike. Other than the fact that I could fit you in my pocket.”

That was true. Hanna and Beca are both short and all around tiny which has always made them the butt of every joke; especially from their cousins who could all pass as leggy supermodels. But height is where the resemblance stops. Hanna’s hair is light, almost blonde, and her eyes are green with golden flecks that glitter in the sunlight. She’s tanner than Beca ever had been, even at the end of summer, and she doesn’t have any piercings or tattoos.

“Okay, we’ve covered me. Who are you?” She asks again.  
“Right. I’m Chloe,” She says it like she’s expecting some kind of revelation, but Hanna just stares at her, “Chloe Beale.”  
“It’s, um, nice to meet you.” It comes out more like a question.  
“She’s never mentioned me?”

This time she sounds a little hurt and Hanna sighs. She had expected this, just not so soon.

“We don’t talk much. I take it you’re a Bella?”  
“Please, I’m the Bella.” She says, flipping her hair behind her shoulder.  
“Good for you.”

She notices Dayna up ahead and wants to go over to her, just to get herself out of this awkward situation but that doesn’t seem to be the case when more girls circle around her.

“Chloe, did you seriously leave the booth?” A really tall girl with blonde hair asks.  
“Yeah, I thought you died.” A brunette girl says.  
“I’m gonna go,” Hanna says trying to push through.  
“Wait,” Chloe puts her hands in front of her to stop her, “are you auditioning for the Bellas? Since your sister’s in the group that means you have to.” She says, as if it’s a law or something.  
“I don’t think so.”  
“Wait, your sister?” Another blonde girl asks looking around at each of the other girls.  
“Beca.” Chloe says, and they all look shocked.  
“Beca has a sister? Who knew?”  
“I didn’t know, did you know?”

Chloe puts her hand up and they all stop talking and look at her expectantly.

“We’re not leaving you alone until you audition for us.”  
Hanna’s eyes widen, “Right here?”  
“No, not here. The acoustics are terrible. Come to the Bella house tonight.”

She looks around at the girls who seem to keep inching closer. Her shoulders sink and she nods her head.

“Fine, I’ll do it.”

Chloe hops up and down and claps her hands.

“We’ll see you tonight.”

They all disperse and continue on their hunt for new Bellas. Hanna walks as quickly away from them as she can. She finds Dayna in the crowd, she points in the direction of the girls.

“Who are they?”  
“The Bellas.”  
“That singing group?” She asks, her slight southern drawl comes out and she looks at Hanna curiously, “I wouldn’t have pegged you for a songbird.”  
“I’m not.”

The rest of the day goes by much too quickly. She gets lunch with Dayna and a few other girls they met at the activities fair. She goes to the bookstore to get her textbooks, and spends way too much money, and she organizes the few things she’s brought to her dorm. At five o’clock she gets up and grabs her bag.

“You’re going?”  
“It didn’t really seem like I had a choice. If I don’t go, that Chloe girl will probably be in my bed when I wake up.”

Dayna laughs, an easy laugh that Hanna is already getting used to.

“Well, good luck? I don’t know what’s appropriate in this situation.”  
“Neither do I,” She opens the door, “I’ll see you later.”

She makes her way across campus and up to the front door of the Bella house. She walks up and down the front steps three times before she decides to finally knock. She is pulled inside by the collar of her shirt and pushed up against the wall.

“Who sent you here?” A bigger girl with blonde hair and an accent asks, pointing her index finger very hard into Hanna’s chest.  
“What?”

Her eyes are wide and if it weren’t for the giant blue ‘B’ on the outside of the house she would think she was in the wrong place entirely.

“Was it that twat Brandon?”  
“Amy, let her go,” The same tall blonde girl from before comes down the stairs, in shorts that are, in Hanna’s opinion, way too short to wear in front of other people, “this is Beca’s sister.”  
“Oh,” Amy adjusts her shirt and puts a smile on her face, “sorry, those douche canoes next door have started a prank war they are sure to lose. Badly.”

  
Hanna nods but she is still a little startled. She follows them into the living room where Chloe is sitting, with a confused expression, staring at her laptop. Something tells Hanna she has that look a lot.

“Oh good, you’re here.”

She’s loud. That’s something that didn’t take Hanna very long to notice. Along with her lack of personal space and her over eager attitude, she has something very likable about her presence; something soft and kind.

“Yeah, I’m not quite sure why I came. Maybe I should just go.”  
“No,” She shouts, “you need to be a Bella.” Her voice turns into a whine.  
“You don’t even know if I can sing.”  
“Well if you suck, we’ll just kick you out.” Amy says.

Hanna bites her lower lip. She doesn’t really want to be a Bella. It has the potential to really piss Beca off and she doesn’t want to deal with that.

“Will you at least sing for us first?”

She tries to think of an excuse, any excuse, but she comes up blank. At some point all of the other Bellas have come into the room. There are eight sets of eyes on her and her stomach clenches. She doesn’t sing, at least not in front of people. She used to be in choir and she sang at church, at the insistence of Sheila, but she hasn’t done either for a long time. One look at Chloe’s pleading expression and she resigns.

“Fine.”

They all sit on the various chairs and couches. She wraps her arms around her stomach, feeling extremely exposed.

“When the silence isn't quiet  
And it feels like it's getting hard to breathe  
And I know you feel like dying  
But I promise we'll take the world to its feet  
And move mountains

And I'll rise up  
I'll rise like the day  
I'll rise up  
I'll rise unafraid  
I'll rise up  
And I'll do it a thousand times again  
For you”

There’s a moment of silence; much too long for Hanna’s comfort. She fiddles with a loose thread on the waist of her jeans and she looks between each girl. She’s ready for them to laugh at her or kick her out and tell Beca how she embarrassed herself.

“Girl can sing.” Cynthia Rose says.

There are several nods of agreement and Chloe hops up to hug her, much to her chagrin. She doesn’t return it, she just stands like a board in between her arms. None of them notice the front door open until there’s a voice behind them.

“What’s going on?” Beca asks.

She looks shocked when they all separate and Hanna is standing in the middle of them. Of course she knew she was coming, its all their dad has talked about for months, but she wasn’t expecting to find her in her house.

“Hanna is our newest member.” Chloe says, nearly jumping out of her skin.  
“But we haven’t had auditions yet.” Beca says.  
“No need. Hanna’s voice will fit right in. I can’t believe it’s taken us two years to find someone new. It must be fate.”

Beca’s eyes never leave Hanna’s face. Hanna’s too nervous to look at her older sister. Her cheeks are starting to burn and her fists clench at her sides. She fights the urge to run which only gets stronger when the other girls all walk out of the room. It’s just Beca and Hanna standing looking at each other from across the room. Hanna crosses her arms over her chest and shrugs her shoulders.

“They basically ambushed me. But if you don’t want me to do it I totally get it. It’s your thing.”  
“No,” Beca says, maybe a little too quickly, “I mean, it’s fine. Do whatever you want.”

She tries to exude her usual standoffish attitude but her voice is strained. Hanna nods. This is the longest conversation they’ve had alone in years. Hanna feels weird seeing Beca here; her sister never seemed to fit anywhere, until she saw her here, saw the videos of her with the Bellas. Beca was never one for socializing or making friends, she just wanted to be alone with her music, but these girls don’t seem like they give anyone much of a choice.

“So, I’ll, uh, see you at rehearsal then.” Beca’s tone is short, not mean, but not nice either.  
“Oh, right, yeah.”

Hanna slings her bag over her shoulder and walks out of the house. She isn’t sure what she expected from seeing her sister. Beca had been at the school for three years now and they’ve only seen each other on holidays. Beca and their dad have mended their relationship but the girls haven’t seemed to be able to get themselves to that point yet.

The campus of Barden is really big and she is still getting used to the layout. She is pulled out of her thoughts when she looks up at a fork in the path. She can’t remember which way her dorm is. She’s about to pull out her phone to look at the map when she hears a voice right behind her. It makes her jump a little.

“You lost?”

She turns to see a tall, lanky guy with glasses and a stack of books. He’s wearing a sweater vest even though its almost ninety degrees outside.

“Um, no, I’m good.”  
“Really? Cause I’ve seen that look a million times on this campus, most of the time on my own face.”  
“How do you see the look on your own face?”  
He shrugs, “It’s like a freaking maze around here.”

She sighs and decides to ask for help.

“I’m looking for Lance Hall.”  
“Oh, okay, so what you’re going to do is take a right. Then when you pass the library take a left. It’ll be right in front of you.”  
“Thank you…”  
“Oh, I’m Tuck. Livingston.”

He extends his hand, nearly knocking over his stack of books that are precariously balanced in his other hand.

“Hanna Mitchell.” She says, taking his hand.  
“Well good luck finding your way home.”  
“Thank you.”

She starts down the path, following the directions he gave her. He watches her walk away.

Inside the Bella house Beca walks upstairs into the room she shares with Amy. Chloe follows her up the stairs and the rest of the Bellas gather around to listen at the bottom of the stairs.

“Beca, listen, I know I should have asked you first but she can really sing and I think it will help us at the ICCA’s this year if we have another girl.”  
“I’m not mad that you added a new Bella without me.”  
“You seem mad.”

She gives her best pout and Beca feels her resolve fall only slightly.

“I’m mad because you poached my sister of all people,” She sits at her desk, “There’s like a million freshmen. How did you even find her?”  
“I saw her talking to your dad.”

Beca doesn’t say anything. She seethes in quiet anger. If she was honest she wasn’t one hundred percent sure why she was upset. It’s not like Chloe did anything wrong; she did what she thought was best for the group, like she always does. And just because Hanna is a part of the group now doesn’t mean they have to spend any time together outside of rehearsals and performances.

“Maybe this could be good for you two. You guys could have some sort of relationship now.” Chloe’s tone brightens.  
“But that wasn’t for you to decide.”  
“You’re right. I’m sorry.”

Chloe leaves Beca alone. Amy doesn’t go back into the room until later that night so she doesn’t have to face the wrath of a scorned Beca Mitchell. She has a million things she was going to try to get done tonight but instead Beca lays on her bed and sighs. This year will definitely be interesting.


	2. Keep your memories in jars (carry secrets in scars)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Thank you all so much for your support on this! I love Hanna and I'm so happy you guys have been so accepting of her!

  
The next morning everything from the day before feels like a dream. She rolls onto her side and when she sees Dayna across the room, asleep in her bed, she knows that it was all real. She has to see her sister again today and she has to go to Bella rehearsal. But first, she has a day full of classes. She gets out of bed and dresses in her usual jeans and t-shirt; Hanna has always been one to dress for comfort. One time in middle school a girl told her she dressed like her dad on laundry day; since then she’s tried to embrace that image.

She walks outside to another unbearably hot day. Georgia summers tend to linger. She rushes to the science building and sighs in relief at the air conditioning hitting her face. She looks around at the room numbers. She isn’t surprised at the fact that she’s going to be late to her first college class ever.

“Hey Mitchell.”

She turns, hoping that her sister isn’t also in this building. She is met with the smiling face of Stacie. She is dressed, slightly, more appropriately than she was the night before.

“Hey Stacie, how are you?”  
“I’m good,” Stacie smiles at her, clearly amused by the difference between Hanna and Beca’s dispositions, “you need help finding your class?”  
“Uh,” She would normally say no, but she doesn’t want to be even later than she already is, “yes please.”

She hands the sheet with her classes printed out on it to Stacie. She grabs Hanna’s hand and she only has a second to be surprised before she is pulled down the hallway. Stacie pushes open the door, not even trying to be quiet.

“Ms. Conrad, I thought I got rid of you last year.” The professor says with a smile on his face.  
“Don’t worry, I’m not here to correct your lectures any more. I have a special delivery.”  
Hanna’s cheeks blush and she walks into the room, taking the first seat she can find.  
“Thank you for your service.”

Stacie gives a mock salute and a quick wink to Hanna before slipping back out of the room.

The professor looks at Hanna, “What’s your name?”  
“Hanna Mitchell.”

There’s a glint of familiarity in the professor’s eye and Hanna braces herself for it.

“Well, any friend of Stacie’s is a friend of mine, welcome. Just try to be on time from now on.”  
“Yes sir.”

Hanna sinks further down into her seat and opens her notebook to take notes. Throughout class she notices one girl with beautiful brown eyes, long curly brown hair, and a freckle on her left cheek, keeps turning to look at her.

When class is over she is pulled aside by Professor Allen.

“Ms. Mitchell, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you. I’ve been hearing your praises for years from your father.”  
“Oh.” Is all she can say.

She always assumed the stories her dad told were about Beca and the Bellas; Barden’s newest pride and joy.

“I’m glad to have you in my class. I hear you’re interested in pursuing a career in the science field.”  
“Yes sir, I’m trying to narrow it down.”  
“Well, if you have any questions at all, just ask.”  
“Thank you.”

He nods once and she rushes out the door, she has another class to get to.

  
  
When her classes are over Hanna feels like her brain is about to melt. She knew that college classes were supposed to be hard, but she thought they would give them a break during the first week. Her backpack has gained several pounds since the day started and her stomach gurgles. She’s been too nervous about Bella rehearsals to eat anything today. When she makes it to the student center she drops her bag on the floor and stares blankly at the bulletin board.

“Hanna Mitchell.”

Hanna turns. Tuck, the boy she met yesterday, is standing there with a big smile on his face.

“Lost?” He asks.  
“My whole life.”

He scoffs and looks around. She doesn’t seem to be with anyone.

“What are you actually doing here?”  
She points to the auditorium door, “I’m waiting for Bella rehearsal.”  
“You’re a Bella?”

He sounds surprised. To be honest, hearing him say it doesn’t even seem real.

“Yeah, I know it’s kind of lame but-”  
“No, it’s cool. I’m a treble.”  
Hanna shakes her head, “I should have known.”

The same look of recognition crosses his face and she knows he isn’t going to be as kind as Professor Allen to not bring it up right away.

“Wait, Mitchell? As in Beca Mitchell?”  
“She’s my sister.”  
“Who knew Beca Mitchell has a little sister?”  
“Very few people apparently.”

To be fair, almost none of Hanna’s friends from high school know about Beca.

“Do you know her well?”  
“Kind of. She’s dating my buddy, Jesse.”  
“The loud movie boy.” She says knowingly.

They met briefly at Thanksgiving before Beca forced him out of the house; barely speaking three words herself before leaving with him to be with his family.

“That would be him.”

He laughs a little, it’s light and makes Hanna smile. He rubs the back of his neck.

“I should let you get to practice then.”  
“I actually have a little more time,” She starts, “if you wanna grab a coffee or something.”  
He bites back his goofy smile, “Yeah that sounds good.”

They walk toward the cafe. The sound of other people starts to get louder. Hanna is starting to discover that there are very few places on this campus that you can find any quiet. She woke up this morning to someone banging on another kid’s door demanding his bong back; and if that isn’t a great start to your day, she doesn’t know what is.

“You know you shouldn’t drink coffee before you sing. It’s bad for your vocal chords.”

She gives him a skeptical look.

“If you don’t tell Chloe, I won’t.”  
“No worries. She kind of scares me.”

This makes Hanna laugh. Out of all the Bellas, Chloe is the least intimidating; a little much sometimes maybe, but if she has an intimidating side she hasn’t seen it quite yet.

“Let me guess, you’re afraid of Bambi too?”  
“Just you wait, you’ll see.”  
“Uh huh.”

They each order a coffee and take a seat at a small, two person table in the corner of the large hall.

“So did your sister force you into joining the Bellas?”  
“Chloe did actually. I’m not so sure Beca would care one way or another.”  
“She does favor apathy, doesn’t she?”

Hanna shrugs. It’s strange to hear other people talk about her sister with such familiarity. She’s certain that the Bellas or almost any of the Trebles know her sister better than she does. She fiddles with the lid of her cup, trying to avoid eye contact with Tuck.

“So what’s your deal?” She turns the attention to him before he can ask anymore questions, “you just have a strong passion for beat boxing and awful choreography?”  
“I was originally going to join the marching band. I play trumpet.”

Hanna stifles a laugh, the more she sees of this kid the more of a cartoon character he becomes.

“But I didn’t get a scholarship for it like my parents had hoped, so I decided to branch out and try something different. Benji was in one of my accounting classes and he talked me into auditioning last year and it just kind of stuck.”

They sit and talk for half an hour before Hanna has to go.

“I should probably get to practice before I’m late and Chloe yells at me.” She says, jokingly.  
“Have a good first rehearsal. Don’t be nervous.”  
“I’m not nervous.”  
Tuck smiles, “Sure you’re not.”

Hanna is taken by surprise at her first rehearsal. It’s a lot harder than she expected. Chloe definitely doesn’t mess around when it comes to choreography.

“You did good today,” Cynthia Rose says, clapping a hand on her back.  
“Oh, uh, thanks.”  
“We’re going to grab some dinner. You wanna join?” Jessica asks.

Hanna had to admit that she felt a little out of place in the group. Of course, she was new, but it’s more than that. Even though Beca said she was fine with it, she can’t help but feel like she’s intruding. But she wants to make friends, and if she declines she’s afraid they’ll never ask her to do anything again.

“Sure.”

She’s more of a silent observer during dinner. She watches the gentle touches of Jessica and Ashley, how they share everything wordlessly like they’re one person. Jessica takes Ashley’s tomato and Ashley takes Jessica’s onion and they split the small container of mayo. She watches Stacie and Cynthia Rose’s easy, albeit sexual, banter. She laughs at their jokes and smiles and it’s nice. They don’t make any cracks about how quiet she is or how small she is. They just accept her presence like it’s always been there and she’s grateful for it.

It isn’t until the end of the meal that the attention is turned on her; they gather their stuff and make their way out of the dining hall toward Hanna’s dorm building.

“So what’s it like being Beca’s little sister?” Jessica asks.  
“Yeah, I can only imagine how moody she was when puberty first hit.” Stacie adds.

Hanna shrugs her shoulders and shoves her hands into her pockets.

“We didn’t really see each other a lot growing up.”  
“What do you mean?” Ashley asks.

She’s a little hurt that the girls knew nothing about her. Beca has always been tight lipped when it came to her family but she thought that she would have come up at least once in three years.

“When our parents split, I came to Georgia with our dad and she stayed in Seattle with our mom. That’s just kind of how it was. Truth is, you guys probably know her better than I do.”

She didn’t mean for that to sound harsh or sad but it settles a silence over the group and she closes her eyes for a second; she blew it.

“Well you’re not missing much.” Stacie cracks.  
“Yeah, Captain Bitchell isn’t as cool as she thinks she is.” Cynthia Rose says and the girls laugh.

Relief washes over Hanna and she laughs a little too. She knows Beca has always been a little prickly; she takes after their mom that way. She also knows that their family situation isn’t the most normal so she makes a mental note to bring it up as little as possible. When they make it to the outside of Lance Hall they all stop.

“This is me. I’ve got like a ton of studying to do already.”  
“Alright, Little Mitch,” CR says, “we’ll see you at rehearsal tomorrow.” She extends her hand, Hanna partakes in an awkward handshake, “we’ll work on it.”  
Hanna smiles and nods, “Okay, see you.”

As the girls start to walk away she can hear Jessica say, “I like her,” And Ashley responds with a quiet, “Me too.”

  
When she makes it up to her room, Dayna isn’t there. She sits at her desk and finally looks at her phone for the first time all night. She has five missed calls from her dad.

“Shit.”

She puts it up to her ear and waits for the barrage of questions to start.

“Hanna, where are you?” He sounds upset and she knows the exact look on his face.  
“I’m sorry, I know I missed dinner. Bella rehearsal ran long and then the girls asked me to go with them-”  
“Bella rehearsal?” The interest in his voice outweighs the anger for the moment.  
“Yeah.”  
“Beca didn’t say anything.”

She scoffs. She pulls her knees up to her chest and spins around in her chair.

“Did you expect her to? She barely said two words to me the whole time.”  
“Did you say anything to her?”

Hanna closes her eyes. She didn’t want to get into anything tonight but the subject of Beca always sparks an argument between them.

“What do you want me to say, dad?”

She can almost hear him run his hand over his stubble and close his own eyes.

“She’s your sister. Say anything.”  
“I have a lot of work to do.”  
“You’re in the same group now. You’re going to have to start trying at some point.”

She wants to scream. She wants to tell him he doesn’t know what he’s talking about, that he caused this, but instead she settles for a simple,

“Yeah okay,” When she’s sure he isn’t going to say anything else she continues, “Tell Sheila I’m sorry and I’ll come over another night this week for dinner.”  
“I will. Good night.”  
“Good night.”

She ends the call and slams her phone down on her desk. She checks quickly to make sure she didn’t crack the screen before she puts her forehead down on the cool wood. She hears the door open and she turns to see Dayna walk into the room.

“Hey.”  
“Hey, late class?”

She sighs and hops up on her bed.

“I don’t know why I thought taking a psych class at seven at night would be a good idea.”  
“Yeah, I can’t help you there.”

Her eyes light up a little and Hanna already knows that’s her tell for when she’s about to make a joke.

“How did your rehearsal go?”  
“They do not mess around.”  
“Yeah, you look really sweaty.”  
“Thanks.”

It’s quiet for a moment. Dayna scrolls through her phone while Hanna takes books out of her bag.

“Oh, one of the girls in my class mentioned you.”  
Hanna pulls her eyebrows together, “What? Who?”  
“Her name is Lucia. She said that you came in late to your biology class today with some drop dead gorgeous girl.”  
Hanna nods, “Stacie.”  
“A Bella?” Dayna presumes.  
“Yeah, I got a little lost.”  
“Didn’t you basically grow up on this campus? How are you still getting lost?”  
“Just because my dad works here doesn’t mean I grew up here,” She zips her bag closed, “actually I avoided it as much as possible.”  
“Why?”  
“It just reminded me how different things were, after the divorce. It just wasn’t anywhere I wanted to be.”

Dayna nods, she had no idea, and Hanna feels a little bad bringing it up like that but she figures she would find out eventually.

“My parents are divorced too. It sucks.”

Hanna has known plenty of people with divorced parents. But most of the kids she grew up with who had separated parents either didn’t remember the divorce or said it was pretty amicable; which to her, meant that their parents were the kind who bothered to hide the fighting.

“Me and my brothers were shipped back and forth every other weekend and switched off on holidays. What about you?”  
“I got out of all that stuff. I haven’t seen my mom since the divorce.”  
Dayna’s eyes widen, “How long?”  
“I was eight,” She shakes her head, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring you down.”

Dayna waves her hand and her smile returns.

“Us children of divorce need to stick together, right?”  
“Absolutely,” They high five and Hanna lets a little laugh escape her, “now I need to shower.”

  
When she climbs into bed later, Dayna is already asleep and it’s actually quiet. She closes her eyes but she doesn’t fall asleep. She can hear her parents’ voices in her head. She has one memory that always comes back to her, no matter how hard she’s tried to forget it. There was one fight, the night that her and her dad left that nags at her late at night.

  
Beca and Hanna are sitting at the top of the stairs. Beca is holding her hand as tightly as she can and Hanna is trying to keep her cries quiet. Her parents have been screaming at each other since their dad got home.

“David, it’s been almost nine years. I can’t take it anymore.”  
“You wouldn’t dare.”  
“I would,” Their mother’s voice was acidic, “don’t think I won’t. I can’t pretend anymore.”  
“Fine, then we’ll leave, if that’s what you want.”  
“You would rather break those little girls up than let your own secret out?”

There’s a long silence. They know they’re squaring up like two boxers about to go another round. The house is still for the first time in hours and it’s scarier than the yelling. Their father appears at the bottom of the stairs and they prepare for him to start yelling at them for listening in on the argument. Instead he comes up the stairs and picks Hanna up.

“We’re leaving.”  
“Where are we going?” Beca asks.  
“Me and Hanna. We’re leaving. You’re staying here with your mother.”

Hanna takes a deep breath and squeezes her eyes shut tighter. It seems to make the memory stop, for now. She rolls onto her side and eventually falls asleep.

Chloe walks down the stairs to find Beca sitting in the kitchen holding a mug of tea. She squints against the light that’s on above the sink and wraps her sweater tighter around her shoulders.

“Beca, what are you doing down here?”  
“Couldn’t sleep.”

Her eyes don’t meet Chloe’s.

“Do you want to talk about it?”  
“There isn’t anything to say, Chlo. Hanna’s here and now I can’t pretend that none of it ever happened.”  
“You know you’ve never told me any specifics. I’m not saying you have to, I just, you know you could, if you wanted to.”

Beca’s lips twinge upward but fall right back into a scowl.

“I don’t see the point in talking about it. It happened and it’s over.”

Chloe grabs Beca’s hand and much to her surprise she doesn’t pull it away.

“I wish it hadn’t, but it did.”

Her voice is quiet, she looks up at Chloe and her resolve falls completely for the first time since they met. She lets a couple tears fall down her cheeks. Chloe pulls her into a tight hug and lets her cry. When they pull apart neither of them say anything and Beca is thankful for that.

She knows at some point her and Hanna will have to talk, they can’t keep going this way, but she just hopes that when that time comes it doesn’t blow up in her face. She wishes it didn’t happen, but it did, and there’s no turning back now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come yell at me on tumblr:
> 
> www.lastchildofkrypton.tumblr.com
> 
> Title chapter is from The Long Road by Passenger


	3. Life ain't always fair (but Hell is living in resentment)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, here is chapter 3, hope you enjoy!

The next day of classes goes easier. She doesn’t get lost nearly as much which she takes as a good sign. When she gets to Bella rehearsal she takes a seat in the alto section. She pulls out one of her textbooks to keep her busy while she waits for the other girls to arrive. Her luck runs out when the first one there is Beca. She looks up at the movement in the corner of her eye and she sees Beca’s hesitation. She looks between her sister and the door but she knows she’s been seen so she continues over to set her laptop up on the piano.

“Hey Hanna.”  
“Oh, uh, hey.”

The silence is painful. Every muscle in Hanna’s body is tensed and she thinks about leaving until someone else comes but that would be even worse. Beca twists one of her earrings and keeps her eyes on the laptop screen, even though it’s black; but Hanna can’t see that.

“How are classes?”

Hanna notices how her sister’s voice sounds foreign. She knows how odd that would be for most people, but she can’t help but be a little stunned by the way it sounds. She clears her throat, crosses her legs, uncrosses them, then crosses them the other way.

“They’re fine. You?”

Beca finally looks up at her sister. She’s grown up so much, even in the last year. She’s grown into her features, they’re soft and give her a graceful look. Her hair falls down past her shoulders in beautiful golden brown tresses. She’s an adult now but every time Beca pictures her, she’s still a little kid scared of their parents.

“Fine.”

They both visibly relax when they can hear the other girls walk into the room. Beca notices how Chloe’s eyes flit between the two of them and a ghostly little smile appears on her face. Beca just shakes her head. Chloe and Amy walk over to her. The other girls take their seats. Hanna has noticed the divide between the girls; although they’re all close, the dynamic is clear. 

Beca, Chloe and Amy tend to group themselves together, while Stacie, Cynthia Rose, Jessica and Ashley form their own little group. Then there’s Lilly, who, well she isn’t quite sure what she does, and she isn’t sure she wants to. She can’t help but smile when the girls take seats around her and include her in the conversation right away. After a few minutes of idle chatter Chloe’s voice gets louder than usual and they all turn to listen.

“Okay ladies, we need to start thinking about our set for our first competition. Beca and I have been working on a couple arrangements.”  
“Let’s hear them,” Amy starts, “I assume there is a kickass solo in there for me.”

Hanna laughs.

“What are you laughing at?”  
“Easy Amy,” Chloe says, “let’s just listen to them and we’ll make some decisions.”

After listening to the several mixes Beca has made, the girls start to deliberate; it’s loud and gets a little heated. Hanna keeps quiet. She had no idea Beca could do what she does and she feels even more inferior than she had before.

“What do you think, Little Mitch?” CR asks and all of the girls turn their attention to her.

Her mouth goes dry and she shakes her head.

“I don’t care. Whatever you guys think is best.”  
“That’s not how this group works,” Chloe says, “we all have a say. What do you think, honestly?”

When it’s clear they aren’t going to let her get away with not saying anything she clears her throat again; there’s been a lump in there for days that she can’t seem to get to go away.

“I liked the second one, but there was just one part…”

She trails off and this time it’s actually Beca who speaks up.

“What?” She sounds genuinely curious, not angry like she had assumed she’d be.  
Hanna gestures toward the piano, “Can I?”  
“Of course,” at this point Chloe is giddy. She sits up straighter and all of the girls wait quietly for Hanna to play.  
“In the second verse maybe it could switch back to the bridge of the first song and then we could layer it.”

She makes the changes and plays it perfectly. The girls all agree and the decision is made. Everyone leaves the room except for Hanna and Beca. Hanna is still at the piano bench and Beca is cleaning up her stuff. She leans against the back of the piano and looks at her sister.

“I didn’t know you play.”  
“You never asked.”

Beca’s heart sinks. Hanna looks down at her hands shaking in her lap.

“Yeah, I guess I haven’t been the best sister, have I?”

This is the moment Hanna has waited ten years for and now that it’s here she’s terrified.

“When mom and dad split, they chose sides for us. It was never about us but we let it split us up too.”  
“Well, if it’s okay with you, um, I’d like to try to be better.”  
Hanna nods, “Yeah, me too.”

She watches Beca leave the room. Her insides feel shaky. She knows she shouldn’t feel so anxious about mending the relationship with her sister but it’s something she never thought would happen; and now that it’s here she doesn’t want to screw it up.

When Beca walks out of the room she isn’t at all surprised that Chloe is waiting right there.

“So?”  
“We’re good. Everything is fixed.”  
“Really?”  
“No,” Beca looks at her in disbelief, “but we both agreed to start trying.”  
“That’s great, Bec.”

Chloe puts her hand on her shoulder and it feels like ice; so cold that it’s hot. Beca doesn’t move it, she lets her hold it there all the way home and when they finally get inside, Chloe takes it back. She wishes the walk had been longer.

“Maybe you could ask her to help you with the arrangement?”  
“Chloe, you’ve done enough. Let us handle it from here on out, okay?”

Chloe nods but they both know that’s not going to happen.

Hanna walks into the room and Dayna is sitting on her bed on her laptop.

“Hey, what's up?” She asks, not looking up.  
“Not much. Some of the Bellas and I are going to a party. Do you want to come?”  
“As much as I would love to see your awkward ass at a party, I can’t. I have plans with Lucia.”

Hanna changes her shirt and checks her makeup in the mirror.

“Which reminds me. She wants me to ask you for your girl’s number.”

Hanna looks at Dayna through the mirror.

“She thinks Stacie’s gay?”  
“Isn’t she?”  
Hanna gives a puzzled look, “You know, I don’t know,” She turns to her roommate, “but tell her I need to actually talk to her first before I give her anyone’s number. I need to make sure she’s good enough for my friend.”  
“So you’re friends with the Bellas now?” Dayna’s tone is playful, it’s too easy to mess with Hanna.  
“I don’t know,” She quickly recoils, “I guess some of them.”  
“Like Stacie.”  
“Yeah and Jessica and Ashley are cool.”  
Dayna smiles, her usual dimpled, squinty eyed smile, “That’s good cause you're going to be spending a lot of time with them,” She hops off the bed, “I’ll tell Lucia that you want to meet her.”  
“That’s not what I said.”  
“That’s what you meant.”

Dayna walks out of the room with her shower stuff leaving Hanna confused by her last statement. She doesn’t have time to think too much about it when she gets a text that says the girls are outside. When she walks out she is met with some whoops and some singing. She shakes her head and falls in step with them.

“You’re first frat party, freshman. Are you excited?” Cynthia Rose asks.  
“Should I be?”  
“No,” Ashley says and Jessica pushes her arm playfully.

When they walk into the backyard of the frat house she is overwhelmed immediately. There are people everywhere, way more than you would think would fit in the space. The music is terrible, and way too loud, and the decorations are a mix between a retirement luau and a Bar Mitzvah. The girls disperse and she is left standing alone before she can even process what’s going on. She sighs and walks up to the porch to grab a drink. She lets one of the pledges fill her cup. He asks for her number.

“I’m sorry, I normally wouldn’t be so pushy but they’re making us compete to see who can get the most numbers.”

He points to his torso which has a few numbers scrawled on it in black marker. Another boy walks by with way more across his chest and back. This kid is a small, squirrelly boy. He doesn’t look like he fits in at all and she feels a kinship with him.

“Why are you even doing all this?”

He looks around to make sure there’s no one else listening before he speaks.

“I’m a legacy. My dad and my older brother were both members. You probably wouldn’t get it.”  
“Actually I do.”

She jots her number on his bare torso with the marker he gives her.

“Thank you so much…”  
“Hanna.”  
He extends the hand without the keg pump, “Sampson or Sammy, whichever.”  
“Good luck, with all of this.”  
“Thanks.”

She looks around and doesn’t see anyone she recognizes so she stations herself against the railing of the back porch and watches the chaos.

“Hey there girl, you look good tonight.” 

A tall guy with a thick southern accent that reeks of beer stumbles over to her.

“Wanna get out of here?”  
“I’m good.” She says, trying to keep the disgust from her voice but failing miserably.   
“Come on.” 

The guy grabs at her arm and she shrugs him off. He’s easily twice her size. He presses her further up against the railing so that it’s digging into her back.

“I can show you a good time.”

His words slur together and he sways back and forth.

“Let me go,” She tries to push him away but this time his hand is locked around her wrist and she’s sure if he wanted to he could snap it.

“Hey man, she said back off.”

A familiar voice comes over her shoulder. The guy lets go of her arm and backs up a little. She turns to see Tuck standing there, glaring at this guy. One fist is clenched and the other rests gently on her shoulder.

“Whatever, you can have her. She’s a prude bitch anyway.”

He walks away and straight toward another group of girls.

“My knight in shining armor.”

He bows and gives a big goofy grin.

“Are you alright, m’lady?”  
“Yeah, thank you,” She adjusts her shirt and straightens herself out.  
“I’m here to serve,” He looks around, “are you here alone?”  
“I came with a few of the Bellas but I have no idea where any of them went.”  
“Yeah, this is a little lame. I was gonna cut out and grab a burger, you in?”

She looks around, a little more closely this time. She sees Stacie dancing with a group of guys, Fat Amy is arm wrestling some guy in a football jersey. Over in the corner, Jessica, Ashley and Lilly are huddled around each other laughing. She pushes a piece of hair behind her ear.

“Sure, sounds cool.”

She follows him out of the party and they walk down one of the paths out toward town. It’s quiet for a few minutes while the sounds of the party drift off and they are left alone.

“So how’s your first week at Barden?”  
“Uh,” She sticks her hands in her pockets, “it’s been alright. You know living in my sister’s shadow and being told fifty times a day how great of a professor my dad is, it’s a unique experience.”  
“Yeah, that can’t be easy.”  
“I take it you're not a younger sibling?”  
He shrugs, “I am actually, but my brother is ten years older than me so the shadow is long gone.”  
“You guys aren’t close?”  
“He’s kind of a jerk, but he’s my brother.” He answers vaguely.  
“I understand that. My sister can be a jerk too. To be honest we hadn’t talked in months before I came here.”

She isn’t sure why she’s telling him this. She barely knows him, they’ve only talked a few times but maybe it’s the first sips of alcohol she’s had in months or maybe it’s his incredibly kind smile and sparkly eyes.

“Why not?”  
“Have you ever been told something so much that you just kind of start to believe it?”  
“I guess so, yeah.”  
“My dad, after the divorce, told me pretty much every day how horrible my mom is. So eventually I stopped calling her, stopped wanting to see her, and she stopped wanting to see me. Beca lived with her until she came here so we just stopped seeing each other too.”  
“That’s really sad.”  
“I guess. But it happened so gradually that I never really noticed it until she and my dad started talking again.”

They stand outside of the late night burger place. She realizes what she’s said and she is suddenly embarrassed about how open she’s being.

“After you,” He says when he opens the door.  
“I actually, should probably go.”  
“What? Are you sure?”  
She starts walking in the direction they came, “Yeah.”  
“Let me walk you back to your dorm.”  
“No, I’m okay. I’ll see you later.” 

She walks faster until she can’t see him in her peripherals anymore. She takes a few deep breaths and closes her eyes.

An hour or two later the Bellas meet back up to walk home.

“Wait, where’s Hanna?” Stacie asks.

The rest of the girls shrug and look around like they hadn’t noticed she wasn’t with them.

“Has anyone seen her?” Cynthia Rose asks.  
“Oh my God, Beca’s going to kill us. We lost her little sister.” Jessica says.  
“She’s not an infant,” Ashley says, “she probably hooked up with some guy.”

They start their walk back to the Bella house. They each try to call her with no response.

“I’ll try one more time.” Stacie says.

It rings a few times before they can hear a ring tone somewhere in the dark.

“Hanna, what are you doing all the way out here?” Stacie asks.

Hanna has sat herself down next to a tree. She didn’t want to go back to her room. The day has cooled into a somewhat breezy night and she was enjoying the quiet. Stacie walks over to her, she gestures for the other girls to keep walking, which they do. Jessica is more than a little tipsy, being held up by Ashley and Cynthia Rose. When their voices disappear Stacie looks at Hanna again, her own voice is soft and gentle; it surprises Hanna a little but she masks it with a look of apathy.

“Are you alright? Are you drunk?”  
Hanna shakes her head, “I had like half a beer.”  
“Then what’s going on?”

There’s a long pause.

“Why aren’t you drunk?”  
“Contrary to what the rest of the Bellas will tell you, I don’t actually drink that much. I just go to the parties to dance and find cute boys.”

At least she got her answer.

“You taking off without telling anyone wasn’t cool.”  
She doesn’t sound mad so Hanna bites back, “What are you my keeper now?”

Stacie scoffs at just how much that sounded like Beca.

“No, but you’re one of us which means we’re going to look out for you. Besides, it’s probably not safe for you to be walking around alone this late. Someone might think you’re a small child and call the police.”  
“I wasn’t alone, well at least not at first.”

Stacie lifts an eyebrow.

“I was with Tuck.”  
“Treble Tuck? Good work freshman, he’s cute.”  
“He’s nice I guess but it’s not like that.”

Stacie stands and pulls Hanna to her feet.

“Why don’t you come stay at the house tonight? You can crash with me and Lilly.”

Hanna allows herself to be pulled across the grass to the path.

“Lilly isn’t going to do anything weird to me in my sleep is she?”  
“No. Well, probably not.”

The next morning Hanna wakes up to an empty room. She’s a little disoriented at first but then she sees the photo on the desk of Stacie and someone she can only assume is her brother and last night all comes back to her. She slips her shoes on and grabs her phone. It’s almost dead but she is able to respond to several concerned texts from Dayna, to reassure her she isn’t dead.

When she walks downstairs she is met with the loud chaos that she has accepted as the norm when she’s with this group. Amy is yelling something about Australian pneumonia, Chloe and Beca are bickering at the table, and Stacie is sipping coffee with a textbook on her knees. Hanna walks over and takes a seat next to her.

“How can you read with all of this going on around you?”  
“You get used to it.”

Stacie hands her mug to Hanna who takes it gratefully; it’s still hot and smells like hazelnut. She takes a sip before anyone even notices she’s there.

“Hey Hanna,” Chloe greets her and behind her Beca is looking at her, more than a little confused, “we don’t have rehearsal today.”  
“I know, I was just,”  
“She stayed in my room last night, after the party.” Stacie steps in to save Hanna from whatever was going to fall out of her mouth.  
“Oh cool.”

Chloe breezes out of the room and Amy follows her, continuing her rant from before.

“The good news is you don’t snore.” Stacie says with a wink. She closes her book and walks out of the room too.

It’s like they all have a pact to leave Beca and Hanna alone as much as possible. Beca stands up and pours herself some more coffee.

“Can I top you off?”  
“I’m good, thanks.”  
“So you actually went to that party with them last night?”  
“For a little while. It wasn’t that much fun though.”  
“They never are,” Beca says with feigned wisdom, “except when we throw them. Then they’re epic.”  
“I’m sure,” Hanna lets a little smile come across her lips.

The conversation feels almost normal.

“I should probably go back to my dorm or I’ll be late for my classes.”  
“Hey, um,” Beca says to stop her from walking out of the room, “dad said something about dinner this week. Did he mention that to you?”  
“Yeah actually.”  
“I figured, this time, we could do it on the same night. You know to make it easier on Sheila.”  
Hanna shoves her hands in her pockets, “Yeah, sure. Tonight?”  
Beca nods, “I’ll make the call.”  
“Cool, I’ll see you later then.”  
“Yeah, see you later.”

When Hanna walks outside it’s like she can breathe again. She had made it through another conversation with Beca and this time it didn’t make her whole body hurt; that’s progress. Although, dinner with their dad may be pushing their luck. The more she thinks about it throughout the day, the more convinced she becomes that it’s going to be a disaster.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come yell at me on tumblr:
> 
> www.lastchildofkrypton.tumblr.com


	4. For the ones to blame (one who believes they are the cause of chaos in everything)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the kind responses to this story. I love seeing all of the predictions of what you guys think is going to happen! As always, I hope you enjoy!

  
Hanna and Beca are both standing outside of their fathers house. It’s getting dark and the mosquitoes have made their appearance. Hanna slaps one that’s landed on her arm. She sighs when she looks up at the window that sits in the middle of her bedroom wall. She grew up here but she has no attachment to it. The inside is just as cold as the outside which is why one of her conditions of attending Barden was being able to live in the dorms.

Beca, as a rule to herself, has spent as little time as possible here. She’s never even been   
upstairs. She limits herself to the kitchen and every so often the living room. She looks at Hanna who doesn’t look back at her.

“You ready?”  
“I guess.”

They both wish they were with the Bellas right now. They went out to get pizza and promised to save them some; an empty promise and everyone knows it. Beca was sent out the door by Chloe who gave her a hug, one that she allowed to linger a little longer than normal. She wishes she was with her right now, not that that’s saying much because she would rather be pretty much anywhere but here.

Hanna pushes open the door and calls out, “Hello?”  
“Hi girls,” the ever enthusiastic Sheila shouts from the kitchen, “Daniel the girls are here.”

She walks over and gives them both hugs which do nothing more than stiffen them further. They take a seat at the table, which is way too big for four people. Hanna remembers many “family dinners” that were spent in awkward silence. She also remembers many days where she sat and ate by herself while Daniel and Sheila went out with friends.

Daniel appears in the kitchen a moment later. He gives a nod and forces a smile on his face. He sits at the head of the table and it’s quiet; the only sounds coming from the knife against the cutting board and Sheila’s quiet humming. Hanna clears her throat and Beca shifts in her chair.

“My God, you would think someone died,” Sheila interrupts, her voice even louder than before, “girls, how has your first week been?”  
“Fine.”  
“Good.”

She sighs and starts putting food on the table. Sheila has been a fine stepmother to the girls; she doesn’t pry too much, she respects the distance they both clearly want and she can cook better than anyone they’ve ever met.

“I suppose that’s all I’m going to get then?” She is met with two blank stares.

Daniel grabs a beer for himself and puts one in front of Beca. Hanna wishes she could have one too but she knows asking would only get her a lecture and nothing more. She had thought, for a very brief moment, about doing a shot with the Bellas before she left the house but she decided against it. Now she wishes she hadn’t been such a wimp. She sips her water and takes the beer gratefully from Beca when neither of their parents are looking.

“So Han, Tom said he met you the other day.” He says, through a bite of lasagna.  
“Who?”  
“Sorry, Professor Allen.”  
“Oh yeah, he teaches my biology class.”  
“He also mentioned you were late your first day.”

Hanna takes a deep breath and rolls her eyes.

“I’m just saying what kind of first impression is that? You need to be better with time management.”  
“It was my first day, dad. I think that warrants a little leniency, don’t you?”

He doesn’t say anything, he just shakes his head, the way she hates; the way that tells her he isn’t going to listen to anything else she has to say.

“Bec, how are your classes?”  
She shrugs, “Fine, I’m taking a couple business courses and, of course, my music classes.”

He nods and smiles at her. Hanna tries not to hold it against Beca; after all they’ve decided to try. And based on the few interactions she’s witnessed between her dad and her sister, she knows Beca doesn’t ask for his attention, in fact she avoids it when she can.

Hanna listens while their dad and Sheila ask Beca a million questions; about class, her job at the radio station, Jesse. Hanna hops up to clear the dishes and takes her seat again, her eyes moving back and forth between the table and the clock on the wall.

“So how are you two liking being in the Bellas together?” Sheila asks.  
“It’s been good,” Beca says with a forced cheeriness, “we’ve only had a couple rehearsals but I think Hanna is going to be a good fit for us.”

Hanna’s heart starts beating a little faster at her sister’s compliment. She doesn’t know her well enough to read if it’s real or not, but by the absence of a crack in her voice, she thinks it might be. She smiles at Beca and looks back to their dad who seems ready to say something. She braces herself.

“Just don’t make it harder on your sister. What you do reflects on her and on me, so do what you’re told.”  
“It’s not the army, dad. It’s a singing group. I’m there to have fun.”  
“I know that, but you also need to take it seriously. They’ve worked really hard for the past few years to build it up to what it is. You need to respect that.”  
“I never said that I didn’t.”  
“I know, but this is what you do,” His voice deepens with its serious tone, “you get excited about something and then as soon as it’s not shiny and new anymore you lose interest. Your sister loves that group and I don’t want you leaving her there to pick up the pieces when you decide you’re done with it.”  
“I don’t do that.”

He gives a look of disbelief which makes her face feel hot.

“Soccer?”  
“I was five.”  
“Theatre?”  
“You told me I needed to quit because my grades might start to slip.”

She stands from her chair.

“Listen, think whatever you want because we all know you will anyway. Thanks for dinner, Sheila. I should get going. Is that okay with you?” She looks back at Daniel, one eyebrow raised and a hand on her hip.  
“The tone isn’t necessary and you can leave whenever you want. I’m not keeping you here, trust me.”

The last two words cut her like a knife. She grabs her bag and walks out the door. She gets a few steps outside before she hears Beca call after her. She takes a few breaths trying to even them out before she turns around to her sister.

“I’m sorry, he just gets under my skin sometimes.”  
Beca shakes her head, “I had no idea he was so hard on you. Is he always like that?”  
“Most of the time.”

She can see sympathy in her sister’s eyes and it pulls at her stomach.

“It’s fine. I’m used to it.”  
“That doesn’t make it okay.”  
“He’s hard on you too.”

Beca falls in step with Hanna on their way back to the Bella house.

“Yeah but not all the time.”

They walk for a while. Neither of them saying anything but Beca can tell Hanna is thinking deeply about something. With the few glances she takes over at Hanna, she can see her brows furrowed and her teeth pulling on her bottom lip. There’s a few more minutes, they can see the front porch lights of the Bella house when Hanna asks,

“What was mom like? You know, when you were little?”

This is uncharted territory. They’ve never talked about their mom. Hanna isn’t sure she even wants to know the answer to that question but she waits for the answer. Beca hesitates. She doesn’t want to make Hanna feel any worse but she doesn’t want to lie.

“She was really supportive; still is. She let me try anything I wanted and when I told her I wanted to make music, you know, she told me to go for it.”  
Hanna nods, “So like the total opposite of dad?”  
“Pretty much. Dad’s proud of you. He’s gotta be, you’re like so smart.”  
“Yeah well, if he is, he’s never said it to me.”

Hanna pushes the door of the house open so Beca isn’t able to say anything else. When they walk inside, the girls are dispersed between the kitchen and the living room. Beca walks over to Chloe who, when she sees the look on Beca’s face, lets her arms drop to her sides.

“Uh oh.”  
Beca shakes her head and waves her hand, “It wasn’t horrible. It wasn't great but it wasn’t terrible.”

Chloe waits for her to speak some more.

“I had no idea how hard my dad is on her.”

They both look at Hanna while they talk. She is sitting on the floor with Stacie already deep in conversation.

“Like, worse than me, he started in on her right away and basically told her if the Bellas don’t do well this year it’s all her fault.”  
“That’s ridiculous.”  
“I know that,” Beca grabs another beer from the fridge, this time she takes a second one and walks it over to Hanna.  
“Thank you.”  
“You’ve earned it.”

Beca smiles, the second one of the night, and Hanna smiles back. The other girls feel like they’re intruding on a deeply personal moment, because for both of the Mitchell girls, this is as personal as it gets in public.

“Alright, now that you guys are back we’re ready to get started.” Amy announces from the front of the living room.  
“Get started with what?” Hanna asks, a little afraid to hear the answer.  
“It’s Thursday,” Jessica says, as if this is a sufficient answer.

Hanna looks around until her confused expression lands on Chloe.

“It’s karaoke night.”

Beca looks completely unamused next to her and Hanna deflates.

“Does everything we do have to do with singing?”  
“No, not everything. But karaoke is fun.”

The girls wait until her look of uncertainty turns to one of apathy that matches Beca’s. She waves her hand and takes a seat on the couch next to Stacie. Stacie pats her leg and gives her a huge smile.

“It’ll be fun, you’re gonna like it.”  
“Doubtful.”

She has to admit that karaoke with the Bellas is much different than the karaoke that she's been forced to take part in before. For starters, there’s no karaoke machine, it’s all done with their mouths as Chloe so (sexually) put it.

“This will prepare you for our next riff off.” Cynthia Rose says, pushing Hanna up to the front of the room.  
“What the hell is a riff off?”  
“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.” Beca says.

The girls start to sing a melody, it’s somewhat familiar to her.

“Just match us,” Jessica says, adding her own voice to the mix.

She thinks for a minute, until the lyrics come to her, and then she starts to sing.

“You’re begging me to go  
Then making me stay  
Why do you hurt me so bad?  
It would help me to know  
Do I stand in your way  
Or am I the best thing you’ve had…”

Beca looks at Chloe who is already looking at her with a cocky smirk.

“You were right, she’s good.” Beca admits.  
“I knew she had to be.”  
“Why’s that?”  
“She’s a Mitchell girl.”

Beca’s heart flutters at the compliment but she fakes a gag which results in Chloe nearly pushing her off the couch. She grips onto her shoulder so she doesn’t fall and Chloe pulls her tighter against her chest. Beca looks into Chloe’s eyes, she’s always so entranced by them, but when she realizes there are other people in the room, and how this must look, she pulls herself back and sits a little further away. Her heart hurts at the crestfallen look on Chloe’s face which she does a very poor job of concealing.  
  
“We are young  
heartache to heartache   
We stand  
No promises, no demands  
Love is a battlefield.”

  
The girls stop singing and look to Beca. They’re used to the awkward interactions between their two captains so they continue on without mentioning anything; besides they know it would just embarrass Chloe and probably cause bodily harm to whoever is closest to Beca.

“Beca, you better look out, you’re sister might be coming for your job.” Cynthia Rose says.  
“Trust me, that’s not happening.”

Hanna hands the microphone, a toy that Amy picked up at the dollar store, back to Ashley. She plops down on the couch and takes a swig of her beer. She watches as the girls go back and forth singing everything from Beyoncé to Queen to a very dramatic rendition of I Will Always Love You by Fat Amy that Hanna is convinced deafened her temporarily.

After they’ve decided they’ve all had enough, some of the girls go to their rooms, others turn on the tv to find something to watch. Hanna follows Chloe, Beca and Stacie into the kitchen. She tosses her beer bottle in the recycling bin and leans against the counter.

“So, Hanna, Beca told me you’re a science nerd.” Chloe says.  
“I didn’t say nerd, I said you were interested in science,” Beca shoots a look at her co-captain and sits on one of the stools.  
“Yeah, I figured it would be a good place to start. There’s plenty of jobs, depending on which area I choose, it just seemed like the smart decision.”

Her voice falls a little and the other girls pick up on it immediately.

“But is it what you want to do?” Chloe asks.  
She shrugs, “I don’t know, I guess. It’s what my dad wants me to do.”

Beca feels that familiar burning in her gut at the mention of their father. The few times they have been in the same room within the past few years she hadn’t really noticed it. But to be fair she didn’t pay much attention to what was going on around her, she just sat and waited for it to be over. Hanna would hide in her room, come down for dinner, and then either go back to her room and turn her music up way too loud or go to be with her friends. It’s clear now that Daniel didn’t care much where she was and Beca can’t help but wonder why.

“Don’t let dad make all your decisions for you.” Beca says.  
“He made you come here and it worked out pretty well.”  
“Yeah, but you don’t want to look back in four years and think that you haven’t done anything for yourself.”

Hanna’s jaw moves back and forth while she mulls it over.

“I joined the Bellas.” She concedes.

The three other girls nod.

“That’s something,” Chloe says, she hugs Hanna’s shoulders.

She pushes her off and stands a little further away.

“I should probably get going, it’s late.”

Hanna walks quickly out of the house. She thinks over the whole night and shakes it off. She can’t quite understand it but when she’s with the Bellas she feels like a completely different person, and she kind of likes it.

Chloe, Beca and Stacie remain in the kitchen.

“She’s cool, Bec.” Stacie says.  
“You’re a science nerd,” She starts, using Chloe’s words, “will you just keep an eye on her?”  
Stacie nods, “Of course, I will take her under my wing and help mold her.”  
“Ew, gross,” Beca says, “she seems to like you though, just keep tabs on her, please.”  
“Will do.”

Chloe can sense that Beca is still upset by the whole night so she follows her upstairs into Beca’s room. She hops on the bed and pats the empty space until Beca sighs and takes a seat.

“She’s going to be fine, Beca.”  
“I know. I just want to make sure that my dad doesn’t do what he did to me.”  
“But like Hanna said, it worked out for the best.”  
“Yeah, but it doesn’t mean that sometimes I can’t help but wonder what would have happened if I had been given the option to find out things for myself.”  
“Are you saying that you regret being a Bella?”  
“Of course not. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me. The Bellas I mean.” Her eyes linger on Chloe's before she speaks, a little more hesitantly this time, “And if I hadn’t then maybe Hanna wouldn’t be back in my life.”  
“Then what are you saying?”  
Beca sighs again and shakes her head, “I guess I don’t even know.”

Chloe nods. She knows how Beca is feeling, Barden hadn’t been her first choice in schools either but it was the closest, and cheapest, option and as the youngest of five kids that was all that was left. She rests her hand on Beca’s leg and they sit in silence for a minute.

Beca looks up into her eyes again, she can’t seem to stop staring into them; maybe it’s the sympathy in them or the way they don’t pry into her own like everyone else’s seem to. Chloe leans in closer and closer, so slowly that it’s barely noticeable. Their lips are about to touch when Beca’s phone rings loudly from her back pocket. They pull apart and Beca reaches for her phone, Jesse’s name is on the screen.

Chloe stands and walks, wordlessly, out of the room. Beca watches her go and wants to ignore the call. She wants to call her back to sit with her, to watch a movie, or to stay with her until she falls asleep like she’s done so many times before. But instead she answers the call and lays back into her pillows.

“Hey.”  
“Hey,” Jesse’s voice is loud and light and despite herself, she smiles, “how’s my girl?”  
“I’m alright, how was rehearsal?”  
“Great, we’re getting ready to kick your butt at the ICCA’s.”  
“Keep dreaming, dude.”  
“You sound weird. Are you sure you’re alright?”  
“Me and Hanna had dinner with my dad tonight, and I don’t know, it’s just really getting to me.”  
“It didn’t go well? What did he say to you?”  
“Nothing. I guess I’m just realizing that I never got to do all the stuff I was supposed to.”

She hears Jesse give the same awkward laugh he always does when she brings up her sister or her parents; it frustrates her and she kind of regrets mentioning it at all.

“Well, I still haven’t met her, not really. Why don’t the three of us do something tomorrow?”

Beca knows he’s trying, he always does, but she doesn’t want to share Hanna with him. She is already contending with the Bellas and she feels like that’s competition enough. She runs her hands through her hair and closes her eyes.

“Yeah, do you mind if Chloe comes too? I just think it might be better to have another person she already knows. She’s not exactly a people person.”  
“That's shocking,” He answers sarcastically, “I’m thinking mini golf?”  
“Come on, Jesse, does it have to be mini golf?”  
“Yes, I demand a rematch.”

Beca, despite her badass image, and her usually cool demeanor, is a mini golf champion. The Bellas and Jesse all find it hysterical and make her go as much as possible. One time she tried to lose on purpose but she still managed two hole-in-ones and she won by at least seven strokes.

“Fine, we’ll go mini golfing unless there’s something else she wants to do.”  
“Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow. Love you.”  
“Love you too.”

She hangs up the phone and tosses it to the end of the bed.

When Hanna walks into her room Dayna is sitting at her desk. She spins in her chair with her arms crossed over her chest.

“Where have you been, young lady?”  
“Hey,” Hanna drops her bag on her bed, “I was with-”  
“-the Bellas.” Dayna finishes.  
“Yeah, me and my sister had dinner with my dad and then we went back and they forced me into karaoke.”  
Dayna leans forward in her chair, “Wait, your sister?”  
“Yeah.”  
“I didn’t know you have a sister.”  
“Yeah you did, she’s a Bella.”

Dayna shakes her head, a little too emphatically and one of her braids hits her in the face.

“You never mentioned that.”  
“Oh, well, uh yeah, she’s a Bella. Her name’s Beca. She’s a junior.”

It’s quiet for a few minutes.

“I don’t tell a lot of people about her.”  
“Well, I’m thinking now that you’re at the same school you don’t have much of a choice.”

Hanna changes into her pajamas and hops up on her bed. She unlocks her phone to a text from Beca.

‘Jesse wants to meet you. Mini golf tomorrow?’

She makes a face. She hasn’t gone mini golfing since she was little. She can’t really picture her sister mini golfing either but it is definitely something she would like to see so she types back a quick reply.

‘Sure. Should I bring my own caddy?’  
‘Not needed. We’ll make Chloe do it.’

She sets three alarms to make sure she isn’t late for her biology class again because if she is she will just have to drop it out of sheer embarrassment.

“So, do I get to meet this sister?” Dayna asks when they both lay down in their beds.  
“I guess so.”  
“Good. Maybe she’ll give me Stacie’s number.”  
“Shut up.”

Hanna turns off her lamp and rolls onto her side. She closes her eyes and waits for sleep to come. Tomorrow will surely be interesting, as she’s learning most days will be from here on out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come yell at me on tumblr:
> 
> www.lastchildofkrypton.tumblr.com


	5. You're the one with a pioneer heart, I'm the one in a brand new start

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay with this! Hope you enjoy!

When Hanna wakes up, Dayna is already gone. She has determined her roommate is a morning person, which is a concept so foreign to her she is certain they grew up on different planets. She showers and gets dressed, making sure to give herself plenty of time to grab breakfast, and more importantly coffee, before going over to the science building.

The dining hall is loud and bright and nothing she wants to be a part of at seven-thirty in the morning. She keeps her sunglasses on as she goes through the line to get her coffee and muffin. After the same kid, who always seems to be working, swipes her through, she turns right into a tall guy standing right in the way.

“Jesus,” She mutters under her breath while checking that she didn’t get any coffee on her clothes.  
“Sorry.”

She doesn’t need to look up to know whose voice it is, not this time.

“Well, well, Hanna Mitchell.”

Tuck’s tone turns to an irritatingly cheery one.

“Good morning, sunshine. You know the whole hungover rockstar look suits you.”

He flicks the frame of her glasses and leans against the wall. She knows he’s trying to play it cool, but his lanky arms and skinny torso make every movement seem forced and awkward to watch.

“Hi Tuck.”  
“Where are you off to this morning?”  
“Uh, class,” She says as if it’s a question, “aren’t you?”  
“Nope, I’m always up this early.”  
“Why the hell would someone do that?”

He follows her out of the building toward her first class.

“I guess I never got out of the habit after high school. Besides, breakfast is the best meal of the day.”  
“If stale muffins and burnt coffee are your thing.”

She tosses the half eaten muffin into the garbage can as she walks past, settling for the excuse for coffee in her left hand.

“Hey listen,” He stops her outside of the science building, “about the other night, I don’t want you to feel weird around me or anything. I won’t tell anyone what you told me.”  
“It’s fine,” She brushes him off and walks inside, “do whatever you want.”

Her tone isn’t mean. She just isn’t used to people knowing about Beca and the more that do just remind her of everything that’s led to this point. He grabs her arm and she jerks it away.

“Are you mad at me or something?”  
“No,” This time she stops to actually look at him, “a little embarrassed maybe. But you didn’t do anything wrong. I just usually don’t talk about that stuff and now that i’m here, I kind of have to, and it’s weird.”

She shrugs and fights the urge to look away when she notices the way he’s looking at her; a mixture of concern and understanding.

“Well I’m around if you do need to talk.”  
“You do always seem to be around. Are you stalking me?”  
“Don’t flatter yourself, Mitchell.”  
She scoffs, “I really do need to get to class though.”

She points to the closed lecture hall doors.

“Right, go learn. I’ll see you around.”

And as abruptly as he appeared, he’s gone. She pushes the door open with five minutes to spare. She gets an approving nod from Professor Allen when she sits down. She pulls out her laptop and bends down to plug it in. When she sits back up there is someone sitting in the chair next to her.

“God, why do people keep doing that today?”  
“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.”

Lucia, the girl from the other day, the extremely beautiful one, is sitting very close to her. There’s a hint of an accent when she speaks again and Hanna finds herself suddenly entranced.

“You’re Hanna, right?”  
“Yes, and I know you already know that. Dayna told me you want Stacie’s number.”  
“You have no tact. Do you know that?”  
She shrugs, “I’ve been told. And I hate to break it to you but Stacie’s straight.”  
“That’s too bad,” Lucia says, not sounding at all upset.  
“Why didn’t you just ask for it yourself?”  
Lucia shrugs, “I don’t know, but if I had I wouldn’t be sitting next to you now, would I?” She asks with a raised eyebrow.

Hanna opens her mouth and closes it when she realizes she doesn’t have anything to say.

“Alright everyone, take your seats, please.” Professor Allen calls from the podium.

Hanna is a little surprised when Lucia doesn’t move. Throughout the whole lecture she can feel Lucia’s gaze on the side of her face. She can see her hair swish from side to side in her peripherals and she watches her right thigh move closer and closer to her own left one. She doesn’t hear a single word of the lecture, when class is over she stands up quickly. She feels like she can finally take a deep breath. She tosses everything in her backpack and flings it over her shoulder.

“Well, um, sorry I couldn’t be of more help.”  
Lucia waves her off, “We’ll figure something out.”

Hanna gives her an awkward smile before walking out the door. Her main goal being to get to her next class without seeing anyone else she knows. She’s successful, but after her third class of the day, she realizes that she has to go mini golfing with Beca and Jesse.

She goes back to her room to change and drop off her increasingly heavy backpack before going to the Bella house to wait for her sister and her boyfriend. She knocks on the door and waits until she hears someone’s muffled voice on the other side. She is met with Stacie.

“You know you don’t need to knock, pretty soon you’ll be living here, too.”  
“What?”  
“Well, I mean it’s up to you, but I think you should. It could save me from living with all weirdos,” She pulls Hanna inside.

She follows her into the living room. It’s surprisingly quiet.

“Where is everyone?”  
Stacie scrunches up her face in thought, “Um, Jess and Ashley are at Ashley’s brother’s wedding this weekend, Fat Amy is probably with Bumper,” Hanna doesn’t know who that is, but she’s too afraid to ask, “Chloe is upstairs, Beca went to go get Jesse, and Lilly is, wherever she disappears to on the weekends. None of us have ever asked.”  
“That’s probably wise.”

It’s quiet for a minute but not awkward. Hanna took an instant liking to Stacie. She has an easygoing personality and a gentle smile; one that tells you, you could probably tell her anything and she wouldn’t judge. Based on a few offhanded comments she’s made, she’s been around the block a few times, which adds a bite to her humor and an edge to her that makes Hanna like her even more.

“I saw you talking to Tuck this morning.”  
“What, were you hiding in the bushes?”  
“Not this time. I was just going to class.”

Another pause.

“Was there a question in there somewhere?”  
“I don’t know. Should there be?”

Hanna groans, internally, and looks at Stacie over her glasses, which she’s wearing more and more lately.

“I already told you, it isn’t like that. He’s nice but he’s not really my type.”  
“So you have a type?”  
Hanna shrugs, “I don’t know. I guess not.”  
“The joys of college, you’ll find out soon enough.”

Stacie laughs and it makes Hanna laugh too. Chloe appears on the stairs. She’s dressed more casually than normal in jeans and a beautiful green tank top that accents her hair. Hanna isn’t sure she’s ever seen her without a dress on and she does a double take.

“Hanna,” She calls excitedly, “are you ready to hit the green?”  
“Hit the green, grandma?”  
“Oh my God, you just looked so much like Beca.”  
“Yeah, it’s the judge-y bitch look.” Stacie says and Chloe hits her arm.  
“I can’t believe Beca likes mini golf.”  
“Just you wait.” Stacie mumbles under her breath.  
“I just hope you’re not as competitive as she is.”  
“Not when it comes to mini golf.”  
“Not your sport?” Chloe asks.  
“Is it even a sport?” Hanna asks.  
“The way we play it is,” Beca says when she walks into the house, “okay, let’s get this over with. Jesse this is Hanna, Hanna this is Jesse.”

Hanna gives an awkward wave and Jesse gives one back.

“It’s nice to meet you for real.”  
“Yeah, you too.”

She doesn’t notice right away but she moves closer and closer to Chloe; she’s basically hiding behind her like a small child.

“Are you ready to get your ass kicked by your sister?” Jesse’s smile is nice but there’s something about his presence that just doesn’t fit in the room.  
“Well after all this build up I better be playing against Tiger Woods.”  
“Please, I could take him.” Beca brushes her shoulder, “Let’s go before I change my mind.”  
“Are you coming?” Hanna asks Stacie before she walks out the door.  
“No, I have some stuff I have to do. But I’ll see you after.”

Hanna nods and shuts the door behind her. Chloe and Beca walk up ahead leaving Hanna and Jesse a few steps behind.

“So how are you liking Barden?”  
“I kind of wish everyone would stop asking me that.”  
“Sorry,” He rubs the back of his neck, “it’s just, this is a little weird, you know?”  
“Weird for you?”  
“Yeah, sorry I can only imagine.”

He doesn’t try any more chit chat and she’s grateful for that. He walks up ahead and takes Beca’s hand. Hanna hangs back, she can hear faint murmurs of the three in front of her. It’s a nice night, a little humid but the darker it gets, the more of a breeze there is.

Beca and Jesse get their putters and lead them to the first hole. Hanna leans against the railing and watches Beca take her first shot. Jesse pokes her to distract her and she laughs loudly.

“Dude, stop!”

Hanna looks over at Chloe and she has a look on her face she can’t quite place.

“Are they always like this?”  
Chloe is pulled from her thoughts, “Like what?”  
“Disgusting.”

Chloe laughs a little but it doesn’t meet her eyes like it usually does.

“Not usually but Jesse sometimes manages to make her have some fun.”  
“She seems to have fun with the Bellas.”

Another flicker of something flashes through her eyes and Hanna gets a feeling of recognition in her gut that she said the wrong thing.

“Come on, Chlo. It’s your turn.”

They play a few more holes with a few jokes here and there. Hanna can’t help but think that if she wasn’t here, everyone else would be having a lot more fun because their jokes seem forced and the conversation is stiff. Chloe sticks close to her side and she’s grateful for that. She can tell Jesse isn’t her favorite person simply by the way she bristles when he touches her shoulder and her laugh isn’t as melodic when he’s the one making the joke.

“We’ve been dating for almost two and a half years and I still can’t get her to sit down and watch a movie with me.”  
“What kind of psychopath doesn’t like movies?”

Hanna hates that she agrees with him on this. Beca points to herself dramatically, then takes her next shot.

“Thank you.”

Jesse holds his hand out for a high five and she thinks, for just a second, about leaving him hanging, but she doesn’t. He gives a wide smile and slings his arm around her shoulders.

“So your gene pool isn’t totally compromised, I see.”  
“I got the normal genes, Beca got what was left.”  
“Except I was born first,” Beca taps the back of Hanna’s knee with her putter and she falters a little.  
“Take your last shot.”

None of them had really been paying attention to the score, but when Hanna takes her shot and the numbers on the little paper are tallied together, Jesse shouts,

“Drum roll please, ladies and, um, ladies.”

None of them do it.

“Fine, it appears we have a new reigning champion, Miss Hanna Mitchell.”  
“What?” Beca yells, playfully, “Overthrown by my own sister.”  
“That was my plan all along.” Hanna says, with a cocky shrug.  
“Don’t be like that,” Beca says, “next time your ass is mine.”

Beca tosses her putter onto the counter.

When they get back to the house, it’s still quiet. They decide to sit out on the porch to enjoy the night for a little while longer. Beca and Chloe go inside to get drinks, leaving Jesse and Hanna alone again.

“So you and Tuck have been hanging out, huh?”  
“I wouldn’t say we’ve been hanging out. We’ve talked a couple times.”

She’s starting to get really annoyed with how invested everyone seems to be in her and Tuck. She gets that he and Jesse are friends but everyone barely knows her, and on top of it, she isn’t used to anyone paying this much attention to her unless it’s to yell at her.

“He’s a cool guy.” He says noncommittally, reading that she clearly doesn't want to talk about it.

  
It’s quiet, for a long time. Beca and Chloe should have been gone two minutes tops but they are still inside.

“I think I’m gonna get going.” He says, pushing himself off of his chair, at the same moment that the girls come back.  
“You’re leaving?” Beca asks.  
“Yeah, I have some work to get done and we have an early rehearsal tomorrow morning.”

He leans over and kisses her.

“Have a fun girls’ night.”  
“Look at where we live. Every freaking night is a girls’ night.”

He laughs, a little too loud, which Hanna is starting to accept as his norm, and hops off the porch steps.

“Hanna, it was nice hanging out with you.”  
“Yeah, uh, you too.”  
“I’ll see you around.”

Hanna watches Chloe relax as he walks away. It’s barely taken a week for her to see how in love with Beca she is; and the even less than that for her to see how oblivious her sister is to the whole thing. Chloe is a little more standoffish for a while after he leaves. She sits next to Hanna on the bench swing when normally she would be curled up like a cat in Beca’s lap, even though the chair she’s sitting in is clearly not made for two people.

“So, he’s louder than I remember.” Hanna says, breaking the silence that has settled between them.  
“You get used to it. Besides, you’re a Bella now. You better get used to loud. This right here,” Beca gestures around them, “is very rare.”  
“So I’m learning. You guys have really been dating for over two years?”  
“What does that mean?” Beca asks, defensively.  
“Nothing, it’s just, I’ve never dated anyone. I can’t imagine what it must be like to be with the same person for that long.  
“No one?” Chloe asks, coming back to the conversation, her eyes wide and her jaw dropped dramatically.  
“You don’t need to be like that. I didn’t just confess to a murder.”  
“Yeah, but like, not even one date, or like a hookup?”  
“Chloe, come on, don’t promote volatile sexual activity to my little sister, please,” Beca says, “at least not in front of me.”

Hanna smirks.

“I dated like ten guys, at least, before college.”

Hanna is a little surprised at the use of the word ‘guys’.

“Really, is that something you want to brag about right now?”

Chloe gives a fake laugh and sticks her tongue out.

“I don’t judge,” Hanna shrugs before she slouches further into her seat.  
“I’m realizing that. At first I thought you two were going to be total opposites but you’re more alike than I thought.”

Hanna doesn’t bother to hide her smile because coming from Chloe that can only be a compliment.

“What’s up, bitches?” Stacie’s voice comes through the dark and a second later she appears in the porch light.

“Hey, where’d you disappear to?” Chloe asks.

Stacie plops herself down in the chair next to Hanna and takes her beer.

“Hey.”  
“You’re underage,” She turns to Chloe, “I had some lab work to do.”

Hanna can’t tell if she’s lying or not. She grabs the beer that was meant for Jesse and takes a sip. They sit and talk for a while. The older girls tell her all about which professors to avoid and which classes they’ve liked. They talk about vocal arrangements and Bella gossip. Eventually Chloe and Stacie go up to bed but Beca and Hanna stay outside a little longer. Hanna has tried her best to keep up with the other girls; taking each drink that was offered but her tiny frame and lack of practice has left her more than a little tipsy.

“I guess I’m pretty lucky in a way.”

She says, seemingly out of nowhere, but Beca has quickly learned that Hanna is usually deep in her own thoughts, even when it seems like she’s paying attention to what’s going on around her.

“What do you mean?” Beca asks, smirking at Hanna’s slurred speech.  
“When you’re little, all you want to do is hang with the big kids but they never let you. We never went through that fight.”

There’s a long pause. Beca plays with her ring before she speaks, a little nervously.

“Han, I know I haven’t said it yet. But I’m really happy you’re here.”  
“Yeah, me too.”

Her whole attitude toward Barden is quickly starting to change.

“Amy isn’t coming home tonight. Why don’t you stay in my bed? I’ll take hers.”  
“Okay, sure.”

Hanna follows her sister up the three flights of stairs to her attic bedroom. She hasn’t seen Beca’s bedroom yet, so she takes a minute to take it in. Amy’s side is a complete mess; clothes are thrown everywhere, despite their huge closet, books are stacked here and there. Hanna can only assume they don’t get much use, and her bed is still unmade from the last time she slept in it, who knows when that was.

Beca’s side is much neater. She has stacks of records and books on her shelves. Her laptop, launchpad, and her multitude of headphones are set up neatly on her desk for mixing. Her bed is covered in a gray comforter, tucked tightly on both sides. Hanna falls onto the bed and her eyes shut immediately.

  
“Do you want to borrow pajamas?” Beca asks, when she walks out of the closet wearing sweatpants.

“No thanks,” Hanna’s voice is quiet and tired.

Beca turns off the light and climbs into Amy’s bed. Right before she drifts off she hears Hanna’s voice again.

“We used to share a room, remember?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come yell at me on tumblr:
> 
> www.lastchildofkrypton.tumblr.com
> 
> Chapter title is from Ingrid Michaelson's, One Night Town
> 
> I'm also looking for a beta/brainstorming buddy for this story, if you're interested please let me know!

**Author's Note:**

> Come yell at me on tumblr:
> 
> Www.lastchildofkrypton.tumblr.com


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